of course jack lew served the president. of course he's in the inner circle. that was his job. he was chief of staff. but this is now the gop's default reaction. opposed to everything the president does, no matter what it is. joining me now is joan walsh, editor at large of salon.com and former pennsylvania governor ed rendell now an nbc news analyst. thank you both for being here tonight. >> thank you, reverend al. >> governor, is this the best the gop's got? just don't do whatever? is the strategy going to succeed? >> first of all, it's pathetic. the american people understand traditionally, a president gets to the point he thinks the people will best serve him in the country. the only way they should be confirmed is if there's something in their background that's criminal. something in their background that's irresponsible. but jaek lew has been a good public servant. you may disagree with the economic theories that he brings to the job, but the annals to the republicans complaints is win the next presidential election. it doesn't say that the executive branch should be shar